Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (2/26/25): Cubs 4, Giants 4 – Cubs Fly T in Scottsdale

The Cubs headed to Scottsdale to play the Giants on Wednesday afternoon with Opening Day starter Shōta Imanaga on the mound for his first appearance of the spring. The lefty was a bit rusty in this game, but Chicago made a comeback to even the score late in what would eventually finish in a tie.

An error in the 2nd inning gave the Cubs a brief 1-0 lead, then San Francisco responded immediately in the bottom half when Casey Schmitt hit a two-run homer to give his team a 2-1 advantage. Imanaga had some uncharacteristic control issues in the 3rd, hitting a batter and then uncorking a wild pitch that allowed a third run to score.

The Giants tallied another to go up 4-1 in the 5th inning before the North Siders staged a dramatic rally in the 8th. A sacrifice fly cut the margin to 4-2 before veteran Greg Allen launched a game-tying two-run homer to right field.

Neither squad could push across a run in the 9th inning and the game ended in a 4-4 tie. (Box score)

Key Moment

Even though Allen is a very long shot to break camp with the big club, his big home run created a nice spring highlight. He’s played slightly above replacement level in parts of seven MLB seasons and could be a good depth piece should he stay with the organization.

Why the Cubs Tied

They didn’t give up and were able to rally back at the last minute to earn the tie.

Stats That Matter

• Imanaga piled up the strikeouts Wednesday but had some traffic on the bases: 2.2 IP, 3 R, 3 H, 6 K, and 1 BB.
• Nicky Lopez had a couple of hits and scored a run.
• Ben Cowles also had a pair of knocks, including a double.

Bottom Line

The Cubs still have not lost a spring training game this season, which is fun even if it means nothing in the end. Imanaga has to ramp up his preparation more quickly than he normally would to accommodate for the season opener in Japan, so the hope is that it doesn’t disrupt his timing. Same goes for Justin Steele.

On Deck

The Angels come to Sloan Park on Thursday to take on the Cubs at 2:05pm CT. Jordan Wicks makes the start with television coverage on MLB Network and Marquee.